If
you havent through an assignment yourself, you cant
accurately explain it to anyone else. Incomplete thoughts on
your part are a guarantee of inadequate performance on the
part of the worker.

Be sure your instructions are understood

Dont
assume an employee knows what you want him to do. Make
certain if theres the least doubt in your mind as to an
employees comprehension of your instructions, ask him to
explain them to you.
Avoid straight-jacket management
Discuss
the assignment with the employee. Encourage him to make
suggestions and, when practical, give him the opportunity to
put his ideas into practice.

Pinpoint responsibility
Undefined
responsibility is a sure road to failure. When you give an
assignment, make sure every one involved knows who is in
charge and who is responsible foe what.Be a counselor, not a judge
Your
employees rely on you for advice. Make positive and
constructive suggestions when a worker runs into a problem
he finds difficult to solve.
Be flexible

There
is usually a better way to do a job. Sensible
experimentation may help you find it. If either you or your
employee comes up with a good, workable idea on how to
improve a method for doing a job, try out. It may lead to
save time or save money.
Set deadlines

Dont
give assignments on an open-end basis. The employee has no
idea of the urgency of a job unless you tell him. Set
sensible deadlines for the completion of each part of an
assignment. That way, both you and he can measure progress.

Be helpful

Youre
the boss, and an employee is entitled to your help if he
asks for it. Show him how he can solve the problem. He can
then profit from your knowledge and experience and build his
own initiative and self-confidence.

Dont do an employees works for him

Giving
advice is one thing; taking the job over is another. You
wont help anyone increase his skills or abilities if he
knows that any time he runs to you with a problem, you will
take care of it with no effort on his part.Dont back seat driver

When
you have given an employee an assignment, dont give
over-the shoulder criticism, particularly if it is
premature. The smart supervisor tells a subordinate how to
do a job, not how not to do it.

Look at it from his point of view

If
a worker mistakes, ask yourself if they are a result of your
own fault or shortcomings .a job beyond his experience,
hasty instruction, poor follow-up. Dont duck your share
of the blame. Be sure you judge the quality of an
employees performance by the quality of your own
supervision.

Review the assignment

A
frank, two-way discussion of a completed job gives you your
chance to do your best coaching. Create the opportunity to
discuss the employees errors in a constructive way, so
that, in turn, he can ask you questions. Remember: your
answers will help him handle things on his own the next
time!

HOW TO DISCIPLINE

Points
a supervisor should follow when it becomes necessary to
discipline an employee.

Step I - Approach disciplining action in friendly spirit
Dont
give way to anger.
Discipline
in private.
Explain
to worker why discipline action is necessary.
Show
workers you are interested in their welfare.Step II - Fit the penalty to the case.
Get
all the facts about the wrong-doing.
Let
penalty be in proportion to the wrong.
Take
effective action at once.Step III - Take an impartial attitude.
Treat
all employees alike.
Be
consistent in your penalties.
Do
not be petty about unimportant details.
Have
as few rules and regulations as possible.Step IV - Be reasonable.
Dont
continue to harp on bygones.
Avoid
nagging.
Point
out something good about a mans work soon after
disciplining .
Try
to reduce necessity for disciplining to minimum.
The better
the supervision
the less the need for discipline.

TRAINING-HOW TO TRAIN

The
things your trainee has to say tell you how effective or
(ineffective) your instruction has been . how well he has
grasped the things
youve tried to get over to him.

His
comments will give you an increased understanding and
broader view of his capabilities and work potential.

The
things he says can give you ideas for improving, the
training process. They may even pin-point the need to
approach it from an entirely different angle.

If
you look at the training process as simply a one way
street. You might as well wear a pair of blinders.
Dont give yourself any opportunity to miss a talent
by-way thats ready and waiting for you to spot
and turn to your advantage.

INSTRUCTIONS
'HOW TO INSTRUCT'?

Your
instructions are bound to be better if you PLAN to Analyse the job you want done before you talk to
your
employee about it. Decide on the objective, check your
facts. The surer you are, the easier it will
be to tell your man just what should be accomplished.

EXPLAIN
Make certain you: worker understands the purpose of the
assignment and the method you want him to use.
Give him time to ask any questions he may have about
the work.CLARIFY
If you suspect that your employee isnt clear on a
few points, go back over your instructions again, give him a
thorough explanation. If necessary, ask him to repeat the
instructions back to you.

Its
better to do this than risk the possibility or costly errors
The
manner in which you go about giving an instruction can make
all the difference in the world in your workers
performance.

Good manners for giving instructions

Speak
distinctly. Be accurate.
Dont
be abrupt. Be consistent.
Keep
instructions as simple. If the instruction is complex, as
far as possible write it.
Have
patience with slow Request, suggest but dont learners
demand.

Dont
talk down to employees. Dont give too many
Instructions at one time.
Try
to adapt your method Make sure you are firm, sympathetic, etc.
to instructions
dont oppose your workers ability.
Others youve given previously unless you explain
the
change.
The
newspaper formula of who, what, when, where, how, and why
works very well
for checking your skill at giving
instructions. Even if youre familiar with this method
it
might pay to review it.
WHO
is being qualified to receive a particular instruction ?
Take the job knowledge, experience and availability of the
worker into consideration.
WHAT
kind of language do you use in your instruction ? Be certain
your worker understands the meaning of all your words,
phrases and symbols.
WHEN
do you want the job started, and when must it be finished ?
Rush jobs should have time limits set. Dont leave this up
to your employee to decide.

WHERE
is the job located ? May be your worker isnt sure where
the job is located or doesnt know here to get the tools
and materials he needs. Set him straight on these things.

HOW should the job be done ?
If your man is experienced, he
wont need so much explanation - but a new or
inexperienced man should have plenty of guidance to get the
job done properly.

MORALE

Look
for trouble spots If you feel theres something wrong with
the over-all work climate in your area-Try to decide which
parts of the procedure and/or policy are rubbing your
workers the wrong way.

Look for signs of weakness in group morale.

Study
the complaints your workers have made recently, and see if
you can get to
the root of them.
Do any of the complaints
indicate real trouble, or are they only minor gripes ?

observe
your employees at different times during the day- on coffee
breaks and lunch hours as well as work time - to get an idea
of their opinions and feelings. Your men may have good
attitudes about the work, but may disagree on other,
non-work subjects. Or it might be the other way around . If
you can manage to get in on some of your employees bull
sessions ( without becoming involved ) , youll soon be
able to tell where the trouble spots lie. Then youll have
a better opportunity to do what you can to correct them by
straightening out misunderstandings and making procedural
changes.

Keep workers informed
Keep
your men informed of developments. This makes for better
teamwork, because when workers know more about whats
going on, they will be more personally concerned. Keep your
self available for consultation as much of the time as you
possibly can, and have conference as frequently as
necessary. Theres nothing like effective two-way
communication for increasing your sensitivity to the
situation-and, in turn, making you the kind on top of
things, the kind of guy wholl go to bat for them-help
iron out small difficulties before they become big ones.

Problem situations

How
long did it take for the last serious problem to be
resolved? Was time lost in recognising the real problem?
Could the problem have been settled while it was still
minor?

Communications

Are
you nearly always the last one to know about situations in
your group? Has an effective reporting system been
established within the group ? Do you emphasis the
importance of fast and accurate reporting ?

WORKERS VIEW OF SUPERVISOR

What
is important is that he holds his temper, never bawls out
people in front of others, treats all employees as
individuals, really listens when people come in to talk.
This is the one whos their favourite boss.

But
to some outspoken employees, the boss is the guy with
authority, and no one with authority, and no one with
authority is ever a favourite. But if hes the kind of guy
you can respect, that is enough. He will be the best boss,
the kind employees respect, the kind they want.

In
employees own words, the best boss listens to what you
have to say and you know hes listening. You know exactly
where you stand. Whether things go in favour or not, you
know hes fair. If an idea give him as merit, he will say
so. If it doesnt hell tell you why. That why

is
mighty important. If you have a problem he doesnt make a
big to-do about it. You arent afraid to talk it over with
him. He is understanding.

The
employees want a firm leader. They want him to be demanding.
But they want him to have control over his own feelings.
They want him to treat them with respect and as individuals.
Theyll work harder, contribute more if he does.

Today
when all-round tension is greater, an even-tempered boss is
much easier to work with. The best boss is one who treats
everybody equally but who does give individuals pats on the
back if deserved. And employees know it if they really
deserve it. They do say theyll work much harder,
contribute more if he does.

Our
employees best boss is one who gives them credit
for knowing their jobs, for having a brain too, for letting
them go ahead and use it. And the best boss is one who also
is interested in them as a person. Not too interested but
enough.

If
there was one refrain that ran through all the answers, it
was that the best boss is honest one, the one who gives an
assignment along with responsibility to work on it but
willing to give counsel when the going gets tough and advice
is sought. Another way of saying it, He doesnt bother
us as long as we reasonably put out. We work for him, he
works for us. And he understands that sometimes there can be
breakdowns.

Employees
want their boss to be truly dedicated. The best boss knows
his people and their capabilities, backs up his deputies,
retains his composure, is willing to discuss and issue
before making a decision and points out personal short
praise is earned.

Did
our employees say what they considered the worst boss ? Yes
! The worst bosses are those who dont know how to
communicate: comings in a diplomatic manner while getting
the point across. He makes you feel important and your
job important. He gives praise when those who lack
enthusiasm for their job. If a boss is enthusiastic, the
rest of us will be too: if he isnt enthusiastic, why
should we be ?

PREVENT COMPLAINTS

Established
customers are a firms best friends. The most effective
way to keep them is to give them no cause for complaints, to
establish your firm on that foundation stone of respect and
confidence which is best described by the word dependability.The
ideal way to handle complaints is to prevent things from
happening that give rise to grievances, to be careful to
give no grounds for a justifiable cause of distress. By
thinking of the interest of the customer-a key principle in
all business-you are safeguarding also your firms
success.
Supervisors
can stress quality and service. The
do-it-right-the-first-time principle. Post letters of
complaint and also letters of commendation on the bulletin
board. Keep a chart showing whether complaints are
increasing or decreasing in proportion to production or the
service load.

Regard complaints as opportunities

It
is important that employees who handle complaints understand
that the customer is doing the company a favour by going to
the bother of complaining. One of the costliest tragedies
of business is the customer whose dissatisfaction remains
unexpressed-the person who simply says nothing but stops
buying our product.

Hear the customer out

"The
vital thing is for people to listen to customers, says a
manufacturing supervisor. Often all people want is to
have their opinions respected. We have to make the customer
feel that we understand how he come to take his position.
Listening assures him of fairness, which in turn will make
him take a fairer attitude in stating his claim.

Give the customer prompt attention

In
my estimation, nothing annoys a customer more than to be
given the run-round, says a manager. If a complaint is
beyond the jurisdiction of the employee, or is too difficult
for him to handle, he should be instructed immediately to
take it to his supervisor. The supervisor, in turn,
shouldnt give the employee the brush-off by saying,
;Couldnt you have handled that yourself? Or, Why
bother me with something like this? Such comments will
discourage the employee from reporting future
complaints to his boss.

Show the customer he is important

In
the case of a personal visit, the employee shouldnt send
the customer or client to See Mr. X who is down the hall,
second door to the right. In the presence of the
customer, he should phone Mr. X make suitable
arrangements for someone to meet the customer when he gets
there. Or if its not against company policy, the employee
may walk at least part of the way with the customer to make
certain he is going in the right direction.

On
the telephone, being switched from one party to another ad
infinitum is even more annoying. A good idea is to furnish
each employee who handles inquiries or complaints with a
written chart on how to route customer calls in the most
expeditious way.
The
customer is the boss,is more than slogan. Every contract with a customer should
make it clear that he is the central figure.